Feb. 12, 2010

Center Valley, Pa. - No Division I men's basketball conference race is closer than the Patriot League heading into the weekend's action, as the eight teams in the League are separated by just three games in the standings with five contests to play for each squad.

Patriot League Men's Basketball Release - 2.12.10

The next set of those games commences this weekend, and all four of the teams that are within one game of first place will make a television appearance. First place co-leader Navy takes a trip to Lafayette, just one game back of the Mids, on Saturday at 1 p.m. on RCN. In the evening in Eastern Pennsylvania, Lehigh puts its share of first place on the line at home against Army in a game that will be shown on Service Electric 2 Sports. Saturday's action also includes American visiting Colgate at 2 p.m.

Valentine's Day will feature a key Patriot League contest on national television, as Holy Cross goes to Bucknell at 2 p.m. in a game that is part of the League's package on the CBS College Sports Network.

Navy and Lehigh share the League lead with 6-3 records. Lafayette and Bucknell are next at 5-4, with American and Holy Cross at 4-5 and Colgate and Army at 3-6. The Patriot League is the only Division I conference where each team is within three games of first place, and one of only five where four teams are within a game of first place.

Patriot League Notebook

Visitors Earn the Weekday Victories

The Patriot League entered the weekday action with the highest home winning percentage of any Division I conference in league games, but the trend changed in a big way as Navy, Colgate and Holy Cross all posted victories away from their home arena on Wednesday and Bucknell did the same on Thursday.

The Mids used a career-high 40 points from Chris Harris, the highest total by a Patriot League player since 2005, to pull into a first-place tie with Lehigh by beating the Mountain Hawks, 85-78, in Bethlehem. Colgate denied Lafayette a chance to make it a three-way tie for first place, as Ben Jonson hit the game-winning free throw with four seconds left to give the Raiders a 74-73 win in Easton. Holy Cross won its second straight game, topping Army, 70-56, at West Point. On Thursday's CBS College Sports Network broadcast, Bucknell led from start to finish in a 73-59 win at American.

Unlikely Results From the Week
It was all set up for the Patriot League to extend its position as the top home-court advantage among all Division I conferences in league games. Home teams were 23-9 in League play after the weekend, the highest winning percentage (.719) among all Division I conferences. And the Patriot League's top three home teams (Lehigh, Lafayette and Army) were all at their own arena on Wednesday, with another, American, at home on Thursday after just having a 20-game home win streak over League foes. But that's why they play the games. Navy won at Lehigh, Colgate claimed a victory at Lafayette, Holy Cross won at Army and Bucknell defeated American for a sweep of the weekday games by the road teams. In addition to beating teams that had been playing well at home, each winner overcame its yearly road struggles. Bucknell won its fourth road game of the year, Navy won its third and Holy Cross and Colgate each won just their second, and first in League play away from home.

Three Squads Cycling First-pLace Matchups
Navy, Lafayette and Lehigh have gone back and forth with holding first place throughout the year, and the series between the teams has featured plenty of key matchups. Lafayette won at Navy with sole possession of first place on the line on Jan. 16, Lehigh defeated Lafayette at home a week later to tie the Leopards for first place, and now Navy knocked off Lehigh on Wednesday to tie the Mountain Hawks for first place. Another rendition in the matchups comes on Saturday with Navy at Lafayette. The Mids put their share of first place on the line, while the Leopards can tie Navy with a win and make it a three-way tie if Lehigh also loses.

Navy's Harris with First 40-Point Outing in Five Years
Navy senior Chris Harris posted the best scoring performance by a Patriot League player in nearly five years on Wednesday when he totaled 40 points in an 85-78 win over Lehigh. Harris made 8-of-14 three-pointers on his night, and also hit 12-of-13 free throws. It was the highest scoring output by a Patriot League player since Lehigh's Joe Knight had 45 against Colgate in the 2005 League Tournament quarterfinals, and the top performance for a Navy player in the school's time as a Patriot League member. Harris leads the Patriot League and is among the national leaders with 21.4 points per game in 2010, and became just the 20th Patriot Leaguer to go over 1,500 career points with Wednesday's performance. He has four of the League's 12 games of 30 points or more, matching the number the entire League hit last year. Harris is in the Patriot League record book for points, steals, three-pointers made and free-throw percentage, a group of records acheived only once before by Bucknell's Kevin Bettencourt (2002-06).

Can Bison Bring a Close One to CBS College Sports Network?
The Patriot League has played five games through its package on the CBS College Sports Network, and so far none of them have been decided by single digits. That didn't change on Thursday, as Bucknell led from start to finish in a 73-59 win at American. The Bison play host to Holy Cross on the network on Sunday at 2 p.m., and despite Thursday's result Bucknell still provides a great chance at a close game. Bucknell has played in six of the nine League games decided by five points or less, and seven single-digit contests in its nine Patriot League outings.

Bison Don't Let Eagles Bother Them
Bucknell committed only three turnovers in its win over American on Thursday, making the Bison the only team in the NCAA that has turned it over three times or less on multiple occasions this year. The other outing also came against American on Jan. 13, when Bucknell set an NCAA season-low with just one turnover in an overtime victory. Bucknell's pair of low-turnover performances are among only 11 outings of three turnovers or less by Division I teams in 2009-10.

Marquis Player.....and Student
Lehigh senior guard Marquis Hall went over the 1,400 point mark in his career on Wednesday, and now is the only Patriot Leaguer with 1,400 points and 500 assists in his career. Hall was already the only player with 1,300 points and 500 assists. With 518 assists, he is six away from tying former American star Derrick Mercer for third in Patriot League history. But Hall's accolades extend beyond the court, too. He is one of 10 finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award in men's basketball, which honors notable achievements in four areas of excellence - classroom, character, community and competition. Fans can vote for Hall once per day at http://www.seniorclassaward.com/athletes/marquis_hall.

Lafayette Hoping to Avoid a Repeat
Lafayette has started the first nine games of Patriot League play in the exact same fashion it did in 2008. The Leopards are at 5-4 against the exact same schedule, posting the same wins and losses in each of the games. Lafayette hopes the similiarity ends there, as the Leopards slumped to a 6-8 finish in the League in 2008 and lost in the quarterfinal round after the hot start.

Lehigh/Lafayette to be "Flexed" to CBS College Sports Network
The Patriot League announced the first "flex" game of the CBS College Sports Network package on Monday, and it will feature another rendition of the rivalry between League-leading Lehigh and second-place Lafayette from Easton on Feb. 21 at 2 p.m. Matchups pitting American at Holy Cross and Colgate at Bucknell will still be played in the same time slot, with Navy at Army on the network on Feb. 20 at 2 p.m. CBS College Sports Network is available through cable operators as well as on DIRECTV Channel 613 and Dish Network Channel 152. There will be another "flex" game on the final day of the regular season on Feb. 27 at 4 p.m., and one quarterfinal and semifinal game will also be broadcast on the network

Streak Snappers
When Lehigh ended American's 20-game Patriot League home-winning streak on Saturday, it wasn't the first time that the Mountain Hawks had ended a reign of home-court dominance by a Patriot League foe. In Head Coach Brett Reed's first season in 2008, the Mountain Hawks put an end to Bucknell's 38-game Patriot League home-winning streak with a 56-54 triumph on Jan. 30.

High-Scoring Action in League Play
Patriot League action has already included one 100-point outing, five 90+ point games and 12 80+ point games through just over half of the schedule. That dwarfs last year's totals of one 90-point game and four 80-point efforts. The individual scoring efforts have been much more plentiful as well. Patriot League players have scored 29 points or more 11 times in League action after nobody did it last year, there have been eight 30-point efforts in League games and now even a 40-point performance with Chris Harris' output on Wednesday. Tweleve 30-point efforts have been put up for the season, including four by Harris, after just four were recorded all of last year.

Patriot League Games

Navy (12-12, 6-3) at Lafayette (14-10, 5-4)
Kirby Sports Center; Easton, Pa. - Saturday, 1 p.m.

Series Navy, 40-24 TV RCN-4, WBPH-60
Streak Lafayette, One Win Last Meeting Lafayette, 90-77 (1.16.2010)
Last Navy Win 90-67 (2.14.2009) Last Five Games Lafayette, 3-2

Teams in the top half of the Patriot League standings put their marks on the line when Navy visits Lafayette on Saturday afternoon...The squads have gone in opposite directions of late, with Navy winning three in a row to move into a first-place tie with Lehigh at 6-3 in the Patriot League and Lafayette dropping three straight to fall to 5-4...The teams have split the series in each of the past two seasons, with Navy winning the rematch each time...That trend could continue here as Lafayette won the first meeting, 90-77, in Annapolis on Jan. 16...The winning team has scored 90 points in the past two meetings, and 82 or more in the past five matchups...Navy has won two of the last three meetings in Easton, though Lafayette did record an 84-69 win at home last season...A victory would give Lafayette its best 10-game Patriot League mark since a 9-1 record in 2004, while a 7-3 start would extend Navy's best since finishing at 9-3 in 2001.

Navy The Mids moved into a first-place tie with Lehigh by beating the Mountain Hawks, 85-78, in Bethlehem on Wednesday night...Navy won its third consecutive game to improve to 12-12 overall and 6-3 in the Patriot League...While the Mids are tied with Lehigh in the League standings, they now own a key edge over the Mountain Hawks with a sweep of the season series...Navy beat Lehigh for the sixth time in the last seven meetings, and won in Bethlehem for the fourth year in a row...Chris Harris keyed the Navy win, scoring 40 points while shooting 10-of-21 overall, 8-of-14 from three-point range and 12-of-13 at the foul line...It was the highest scoring game for a Navy player in its Patriot League history, and the top mark for any Patriot League player since Lehigh's Joe Knight had 45 in the 2005 quarterfinals against Colgate...Navy took the lead for good on a three-pointer by Jordan Sugars for a 63-60 edge with 8:28 left...Holding a 68-66 lead, Navy reeled off eight straight points to go up by 10 with 3:05 to go...Lehigh cut it to four with 50 seconds left, but Harris hit all six of his free throw attempts in the final minute to seal the win...The Mids made 14-of-31 three-pointers, their third straight game with 13 or more treys...Navy has hit 42 treys during its three-game win streak...The Mids had 22 assists with just 13 turnovers and overcame a 48-34 rebounding deficit...O.J. Avworo had 11 assists, his third-straight game in double figures...He also had eight points to narrowly miss a third-straight double-double...Romeo Garcia had 10 points, while Sugars added nine...Navy overcame a 48-34 rebounding deficit...The Mids return home on Wednesday to face Holy Cross.

Lafayette Lafayette's losing skid hit three games with a 74-73 heartbreaker at home against Colgate on Wednesday...The Leopards are at 14-10 overall and 5-4 in the Patriot League, and have lost three straight and four of five in League play since a 4-0 start...The Leopards have split the series with Colgate for four straight years, losing the rematch each time...Lafayette fell behind by 14 at halftime, but clawed back and eventually took a one-point lead with 6:55 left...There were six ties from that point, with the last coming when Jeff Kari sank two free throws for the Leopards to even the score at 73 with 17 seconds left...After Colgate hit a free throw for a one-point lead with four seconds left, Kari's three at the buzzer was off the mark...Lafayette was just 8-of-28 from three-point range, but stayed in the game by making all 19 of its free throws...Jim Mower scored a team-high 21 points, while Jared Mintz had 19, Ryan Willen scored 12 and Michael Gruner added 10...The Leopards had 18 turnovers and shot just over 40 percent, but did force 22 Colgate miscues...The Leopards play three of their final four League games on the road, starting Wednesday at Bucknell.

Holy Cross (7-17, 4-5) at Bucknell (10-15, 5-4)
Sojka Pavilion; Lewisburg, Pa. - Sunday, 2 p.m.

Series Bucknell, 27-24 TV CBS College Sports Network
Streak Holy Cross, Two Wins Last Meeting Holy Cross, 82-69 (1.16.2010)
Last Bucknell Win 72-66 (2.14.2009) Last Five Games Holy Cross, 4-1

Holy Cross and Bucknell renew their rivalry on Sunday afternoon in a game shown on the CBS College Sports Network at 2 p.m....Each team has played well of late, with Holy Cross winning its last two games and Bucknell taking a victory in four of its last five games...The Crusaders have won four of the past five meetings against the Bison, including an 82-69 triumph at home on Jan. 16...Holy Cross has won the past two meetings in Lewisburg, with a 68-56 win at Bucknell last season...However, no team has swept the season series since Bucknell won both meetings in 2006...The teams have a rich history in Patriot League play, with Bucknell holding a 27-24 edge in an all-time series that has been played entirely as League members, and a 21-18 lead in regular-season matchups.

Holy Cross The Crusaders put together a strong defensive performance for the second straight game, as they limited Army to 32 percent shooting in a 70-56 win at West Point on Wednesdsay...It was Holy Cross' eighth straight win at Army, and the Crusaders avoided a first-ever season sweep at the hands of the Black Knights...Holy Cross has won 17 of the past 19 games in the series...Holy Cross won just its second road game of the year, and first in Patriot League action...The Crusaders are 7-17 overall and 4-5 in the Patriot League after their second straight win...Eric Meister had a school-record nine blocks, and just missed a triple-double with 10 points and nine rebounds...Mike Cavataio had 15 points, R.J. Evans scored 14 and Andrew Beinert tallied 13...Holy Cross led nearly from start to finish, opening up an 11-point first-half edge before Army scored the last six points of the half to make it a 32-27 game at the break...The Crusaders took control in the second half with a 10-0 run that made the score 46-31 with under 12 minutes to play...The lead was in double digits for the rest of the game, as the Crusaders went up by as many as 21 points before settling on the 70-56 final...Holy Cross held Army to 9-for-28 shooting in the second half...The Crusaders held a 37-28 rebounding advantage and forced 15 turnovers, which helped them overcome 21 turnovers of their own...They had 11 blocks overall, led by Meister's effort...Holy Cross concludes its three-game road trip by visiting Navy on Wednesday.

Bucknell The Bison earned a key road win at American on Thursday, starting the game with an 11-0 run and leading the rest of the way in a 73-59 triumph to sweep the season series for the first time since 2007...Bucknell won for the fourth time in five games to improve to 10-15 overall and in a fourth-place tie at 5-4 in the Patriot League...It was just Bucknell's third game in League play that was not decided by five points or less, and only the second with a double-digit margin...The Bison are over .500 through nine League games for the sixth time in the last seven seasons...Mike Muscala scored all 11 points as the Bison took command while holding American scoreless for the first 3:34...American cut it to one later in the half and 28-25 at halftime, but Bucknell started the second half just as strong with a 9-2 run to re-gain a 10-point lead...The Bison held a double-digit advantage for the final 14:21 of the contest, with the lead swelling as high as 19 points in the final minute...Three freshmen led the scoring for the Bison, as Joe Willman had 15 points and Muscala and Bryson Johnson each totaled 14...Patrick Behan scored 13 points to put a fourth player in double figures...Darryl Shazier directed the offense with seven points and six assists with no turnovers...The Bison had 12 assists and just three turnovers as a team after recording 13 assists and one turnover in the first meeting with American...Bucknell now has two of the 11 outings of three turnovers or less in Division I men's basketball this season...The Bison hit 26-of-32 free throws and made 42 percent of their shots from the field to help overcome 3-of-13 three-point shooting...Johnson was 12-of-13 at the line....The Bison are now in the midst of a three-game homestand, which continues next week against Lafayette on Wednesday and Colgate on Sunday.

Army (13-10, 3-6) at Lehigh (15-9, 6-3)
Stabler Arena; Bethlehem, Pa. - Saturday, 7 p.m.

Series Lehigh, 59-29 TV Service Electric 2 Sports
Streak Lehigh, One Win Last Meeting Lehigh, 73-55 (1.17.2010)
Last Army Win 53-50 (3.4.2009) Last Five Games Army, 3-2

Army and Lehigh will each try to get back on the winning track when they meet in Bethlehem on Saturday...Lehigh won the first meeting, 73-55, at West Point on Jan. 17, and has fared well against the Black Knights in regular-season Patriot League games...Lehigh has won five of the last six regular-season meetings overall, and has not lost a regular-season home game against the Black Knights since 2002...The Patriot League Tournament has been a different story, however, as Army owns quarterfinal-round wins over Lehigh in the last three seasons, including games in Bethlehem in 2007 and 2008...Lehigh goes for its sixth season sweep of the Black Knights in the past eight years.

Army The Black Knights lost at home for just the second time this season on Wednesday, as Holy Cross came in to Christl Arena and emerged with a 70-56 victory...The teams split the season series, and Army has still never swept the Crusaders in 20 Patriot League seasons...The Black Knights lost at home against Holy Cross for the eighth year in a row, and have dropped 17 of the last 19 matchups overall...Army shot just 32 percent for the game, with a 9-for-28 mark in the second half...Army's only double-digit scorer was Cleveland Richard, who had 15 points...The Black Knights had 14 steals and forced 21 turnovers in the game...Army has its final Patriot League road game of the year at American on Wednesday.

Lehigh The Mountain Hawks had a chance for a two-game lead in the Patriot League, but instead find themselves tied at the top of the standings after falling at home against Navy, 85-78, on Wednesday...Lehigh is 15-9 overall and 6-3 in the Patriot League, tied with the Mids for first place after getting swept in the season series...Lehigh's seven-game home-winning streak came to an end, and the Mountain Hawks fell to 9-2 at Stabler Arena this season...They lost at home to Navy for the fourth straight time, and fell for the sixth time in the last seven meetings against the Mids overall...After trailing by seven points at halftime, Lehigh scored the first nine points of the second half to take the lead...The game was tight until Navy put together an 8-0 run for a 10-point lead with 3:05 left...Lehigh fought back to cut it to four in the final minute, but would get no closer..C.J. McCollum scored a team-high 27 points with 10 rebounds for his second straight double-double and Zahir Carrington added 15 points and 10 boards...Gabe Knutson had 11 points and nine rebounds, and Lehigh held a 48-34 edge on the boards...Marquis Hall had eight points and eight assists with just one turnover...Lehigh was hurt by a 4-for-14 clip from three-point range, and 18-of-29 foul shooting....The Mountain Hawks play their next two games on the road, starting Wednesday at Colgate.

American (7-17, 4-5) at Colgate (7-16, 3-6)
Cotterell Court; Hamilton, N.Y. - Saturday, 2 p.m.

Series American, 18-3
Streak American, 11 Wins Last Meeting American, 73-63 (1.17.2010)
Last Colgate Win 67-57 (2.13.2005) Last Five Games American, 5-0

American heads to Colgate on Saturday afternoon looking to continue its dominance over the Raiders...The Eagles have won 11 straight meetings, extending the streak with a 73-63 win at home on Jan. 17...It is tied for the longest active win streak in a Patriot League series...American is 18-2 against the Raiders as a Patriot League member...Colgate's last win in the series came in 2005.

American The Eagles lost for the second consecutive time at home, falling to Bucknell, 73-59, on Thursday...American was swept in the season series by the Bison for the first time since 2007, and lost a second straight home game after previously winning 20 straight at home against Patriot League foes...The Eagles fell to 7-17 overall and in a fifth-place tie in the League standings at 4-5...American fell behind 11-0 to start the game and never tied the contest or took the lead...They did close to one point late in the first half and trailed by three at halftime before Bucknell took control for good with a 9-2 run to start the second half...The Eagles placed three players in double figures, with Nick Hendra leading the way with 19 points...Daniel Munoz scored 15 points and Stephen Lumpkins added 11...Top scorer Vlad Moldoveanu, who came in averaging 22.9 points in Patriot League games, was limited to two points on 1-of-7 shooting...American returns to Bender Arena to take on Army on Wednesday.

Colgate The Raiders snapped a two-game skid with their first Patriot League road victory of the year, beating Lafayette, 74-73, on Wednesday...Ben Jonson hit the game-winning free throw with four seconds left after Colgate had squandered a double-digit second-half lead...The Raiders earned just their second overall road win of the year, and improved to 7-16 for the season and 3-6 in the Patriot League...Colgate split the season series with Lafayette for the fourth straight year, winning the second meeting each time...Colgate used a 24-4 run, including the last 14 points, to take a 41-27 lead at halftime...Lafayette fought back to take a one-point lead with under seven minutes left, and the game featured six ties after that until Jonson's game-winning free throw...Jonson and Kyle Roemer shared team honors for Colgate with 17 points, while Yaw Gyawu added 14 and Brandon James had a career-high 10 points in just 14 minutes...The Raiders had an impressive night from downtown, making 11-of-17 three-pointers....Roemer had a 4-of-7 effort from beyond the arc and moved into the Patriot League top 10 in three-pointers made with 252...Colgate shot just under 50 percent overall at 26-for-54, as the hot shooting helped the Raiders overcome 22 turnovers...In their last two Patriot League wins, Colgate earned a one-point victory on a game-winning shot with less than five seconds to play...The Raiders are back home to face Lehigh on Wednesday.